Removing the Armor
by abbitha1108
Summary: It's a few days after the Battle of Hogwarts has ended. Ron and Hermione have been so busy that they haven't really had a chance to talk. What happens when Ron wakes up in the middle of the night and realizes that Hermione isn't there? Ron's POV.


_AN: I don't keep up with all of the Harry Potter fanfics in the world, so I can't promise that this idea is original. In fact, I'm 99% sure that it's been done before, but hopefully not like this. Also, anyone who's read my story "Phoenix Reflections" knows that I write Ron's POV with a lot of humor, but you won't find that in this one-shot. This is set after the Battle of Hogwarts, so he's more mature and mellow (at this moment at least). Still, I tried to keep as true to his character as possible. Enjoy!_

* * *

It was just before dawn when I woke up. I saw Harry on the cot sleeping peacefully – finally – and at first, I wasn't sure why I was awake. Something just felt… wrong, I guess. So, despite my better judgment, I got out of bed and quietly headed downstairs. I figured I could probably eat something while I wondered what was wrong.

It was three days after the Battle of Hogwarts was finished, and we had spent most of that time cleaning up, repairing the damage to the castle, and trying to give a proper send-off to everyone we lost during the battle. It wasn't an easy time for any of us, but we labored through it.

Everyone who lost somebody was given the option to bury their bodies wherever and however they see fit, but most chose to have them buried on the school grounds near Dumbledore's grave. There's now a nice cemetery and memorial there, with a list of everyone who died, even if they weren't buried there. Fred was there, along with Lupin and Tonks. We knew that that's where they would really want to be. They were heroes, and it's only right that everyone knew it.

As I passed the landing to Ginny's room, I saw the door was slightly open. I looked in quickly and saw Ginny in bed, but there was no sign of Hermione. I started to panic, but then I thought I was being stupid. She was probably in the bathroom or something. I listened for a minute, but I couldn't hear anyone in the house moving.

I got to the kitchen and looked out the windows, hoping to see some sign of her. There! She was sitting over by the pond, with her back to the house. I padded out barefoot and slowly walked over so I wouldn't scare her. As I got closer to where she sat, I saw that she was curled up with her arms around her knees, and I could hear her sobbing.

I sat down next to her and wrapped my arms around her. I heard her softly say "Oh, Ron" and she buried her face into my shoulder. She hadn't cried at all over the past couple days because she was so focused on the task at hand. But now, I just held her as she let it all out.

It's incredible how brave she's been, my Hermione. Unearthing bodies, digging graves, and repairing damage not only to the castle, but to families with her kind words. She's been there for me whenever I needed her, ready to lend a helping hand. The one time I broke down into tears, the night after the battle, she gently placed my head in her lap and stroked my hair until I fell asleep. I felt like a right git when I woke up the next morning, but she didn't complain.

Now, I was happy to return the favor. I loved this: just sitting with her, comforting her by being here. We hadn't been alone much since the Battle, and when we were alone, it was a bit awkward. We still haven't talked about the kiss. We've both wanted to – I could see it on her face as clearly as she could see it on mine – but the one time I almost brought it up, stupid Ginny came running over claiming she needed Hermione's help with Merlin-knows-what.

After a little while, Hermione finally hiccupped one last time and looked up at me. "I'm sorry, Ron."

"For what?" She couldn't have been apologizing for crying. I did the same thing to her the other day, and I'm a bloke, for Merlin's sake! It's a little more pathetic to break down on your girlfriend's shoulder than to have her do the same for you.

"For everything!" She rested her head back on my shoulder and grabbed my hand with hers. "I'm sorry I was so horrible to you when you came back, I'm sorry for not believing you like I should have, and I am so incredibly sorry for Fred. It's terrible, what you had to deal with."

"But you had to deal with it, too," I said as she looked up. "Fred was a part of your family as much as mine. At the very least, you've had to deal with _me_, and I know that couldn't have been easy. _I_ could barely deal with me lately. As for the rest of it, I will be the first to say that I was a complete arse and I deserved it." She let out a tiny laugh.

I gently grabbed her chin and kissed her softly. I could feel her surprise, but when I pulled back she was smiling. "You've been a soldier this whole year, Mione, and I am still amazed at how strong you were. _Are_, I should say. You are the most amazing woman I've ever met, and no matter how I might act, you should know that I love you."

The shock at hearing these words was mirrored on both of our faces. I did _not_ mean for that to come out, and I was worried how Hermione was going to take it. But it was too late to take it back, and I didn't even want to. I don't remember when I first started to think of her as mine, but as soon as the words were out, I realized that that is exactly what she is: mine.

She sighed happily and beamed. "I was wondering if you were ever going to say it. I love you, too, Ron. I have for a while, and against my better judgment, I always will."

"Oi!" I exclaimed indignantly as she laughed. "I _have_ told you that I loved you before, you just didn't believe I was serious about it. You've got to stop overthinking everything, Hermione."

"Oh, that's my problem, is it?" She was grinning.

"Yeah," I kissed her again. "It is."

She relaxed against me. "Well, considering you hardly think at all, I think it's only fair that I do enough thinking for the both of us." She looked slyly up at me.

I was about to argue with her, but instead, I started laughing. Then, she started laughing. We were hysterical, probably from the lack of sleep, but we couldn't seem to stop.

The sky was starting to get lighter by the time we caught our breath. We repositioned ourselves so we could watch the sun rising. At that moment, nothing else in the world mattered. With Hermione in my arms, I thought that this is how it should always be. When we're together, we're free. There's no need to put up walls or hide; we don't have to be soldiers anymore. We can just remove our armor and be Ron and Hermione: two friends who needed the near end of the world to realize we were in love.


End file.
